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CA, USA
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Posted: 3/31/2010 10:14:01 PM EDT
[#1]
That sells it. The Fridge is about 4 years old and is suppose to be an energy star rating. Not sure that helps or not. may even figure out how to get (2) of them. One as a back up to store away until needed.
Buzz. |
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Posted: 4/1/2010 9:06:04 AM EDT
[#2]
Originally Posted By LOW2000:
If I wanted to use it to spin my electric meter backwards by plugging it into a wall socket, would that work? How much gasoline would you go through to break even on the price of the gen vs. $80 worth of electricity? Assume I get gasoline for free. Do not do that. Paralleling two different power sources with mismatched voltages and out of synch phasing will cause a nice explosion. I've seen it happen aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise when my buddy Bill misunderstood a Load Dispatchers orders and paralleled shore power with the ship's Emergency Diesel Generator out of phase...nice fireball and melted breaker. 
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USA
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Posted: 4/6/2010 9:23:39 PM EDT
[#3]
I bought one of these and just got around to trying it. It was very hard to start at first. I yanked for a good 40-50 times before tilting it over toward the carb side of the gennie. It finally caught and took right off. But it hunted quite a bit looking for idle. It was also banging intermittently. I didn't fill the tank up, because I didn't have a full gallon. I had about a 1/4 gallon of 50:1 that I use for my Stihl saw and Echo blower. This mix is only a couple of weeks old from where I cut up a good sized Maple and then used the blower to clean the yard up. The gennie ran out of gas within 2 minutes! I opened the tank and there's quite a bit of fuel sloshing in there, and it's just over the raised portion that's in the center of the tank. I just assume it's out of gas because if I let it sit for a minute, it will fire off for a few seconds (after pulling it 8-10 times with the choke on) before it dies. Wow. That's a lot of gas in the tank that isn't being consumed. So I go and mix a half gallon more and add it to the tank (it's all I had on hand). It fired right off and hunted again. And now it's starting to settle into a more constant banging instead of intermittent as the minutes go by. I got a lamp with a 100 watt bulb and connected it, turning it on. The gennie is still surging, but it's got to break in for a while I guess before I can expect it to settle.
After tolerating the now constant banging noise for a couple of minutes I started to investigate where it's coming from. It's definitely coming from the piston slapping the cylinder walls. So 10 minutes into running it, I'm cashing in my chips on this one. Back to the store it's going. It took quite a bit of time to even find one in stock. I'm underwhelmed at this point. |
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FL, USA
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Posted: 4/8/2010 6:43:56 PM EDT
[#4]
Originally Posted By tenOC:
I bought one of these and just got around to trying it. It was very hard to start at first. I yanked for a good 40-50 times before tilting it over toward the carb side of the gennie. It finally caught and took right off. But it hunted quite a bit looking for idle. It was also banging intermittently. I didn't fill the tank up, because I didn't have a full gallon. I had about a 1/4 gallon of 50:1 that I use for my Stihl saw and Echo blower. This mix is only a couple of weeks old from where I cut up a good sized Maple and then used the blower to clean the yard up. The gennie ran out of gas within 2 minutes! I opened the tank and there's quite a bit of fuel sloshing in there, and it's just over the raised portion that's in the center of the tank. I just assume it's out of gas because if I let it sit for a minute, it will fire off for a few seconds (after pulling it 8-10 times with the choke on) before it dies. Wow. That's a lot of gas in the tank that isn't being consumed. So I go and mix a half gallon more and add it to the tank (it's all I had on hand). It fired right off and hunted again. And now it's starting to settle into a more constant banging instead of intermittent as the minutes go by. I got a lamp with a 100 watt bulb and connected it, turning it on. The gennie is still surging, but it's got to break in for a while I guess before I can expect it to settle. After tolerating the now constant banging noise for a couple of minutes I started to investigate where it's coming from. It's definitely coming from the piston slapping the cylinder walls. So 10 minutes into running it, I'm cashing in my chips on this one. Back to the store it's going. It took quite a bit of time to even find one in stock. I'm underwhelmed at this point. sounds like you got a bad one. Harbor freight is great about returns. I have found that they "rough handle" boxes, it might have been dropped somewhere between china and the store shelf. |
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Posted: 4/8/2010 6:54:06 PM EDT
[#5]
Originally Posted By Lootie23:
Originally Posted By LOW2000:
If I wanted to use it to spin my electric meter backwards by plugging it into a wall socket, would that work? How much gasoline would you go through to break even on the price of the gen vs. $80 worth of electricity? Assume I get gasoline for free. Do not do that. Paralleling two different power sources with mismatched voltages and out of synch phasing will cause a nice explosion. I've seen it happen aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise when my buddy Bill misunderstood a Load Dispatchers orders and paralleled shore power with the ship's Emergency Diesel Generator out of phase...nice fireball and melted breaker. The Enterprise? Did you tell him she can't take much more of it? |
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USA
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Posted: 4/9/2010 7:14:38 PM EDT
[#6]
I took it back and they never even blinked. "Do you want another one?"
"Yes" "Okay, grab another one over there when I get this receipt charged back out." "Do you want me to bring the box inside?" "No." |
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CA, USA
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Posted: 4/9/2010 8:25:45 PM EDT
[#7]
I think the Harbor Freight return policy is great. I was ready for a fight when I took back a table top tile saw. It was so loud my ears hurt after 5 minutes and I was wearing ear plugs. I clean the saw up, put it back in the box. They looked at me and asked if I wanted another one or my money back.
Your replacement should work fine. Buzz |
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Posted: 4/11/2010 3:39:42 PM EDT
[#8]
Tag...
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Posted: 4/13/2010 1:24:44 AM EDT
[#9]
Originally Posted By Blackoperations:
Using a Radio Shack sound meter I measured its noise at 72dB at 22ft (specs are 69 dB at 21ft) 3/4 Load. Quiet enough, at the end of a 50ft extension cord. As small as it is, shouldn't be too hard to kludge together some sort of noise-reducing enclosure for it - maybe an old plastic ice chest with one end cut off for ventilation... |
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Posted: 4/14/2010 11:37:39 PM EDT
[#10]
Not sure if anyone cares but this month's "Field and Stream" magazine has ther $79 coupon (and 20percent off) good through the end of june.
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NC, USA
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Posted: 4/15/2010 8:40:01 AM EDT
[#11]
Well I just won one of these on Fleabay. Total with shipping was $114. I will give a report when it gets here.
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OK, USA
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Posted: 4/16/2010 4:08:21 PM EDT
[Last Edit: adluginb]
[#12]
Got mine today locally for $84 out the door. It was marked $129 in the store but there was a flyer with it for $99 hanging up so they marked it to $99 then I used the 20% off coupon. Got it home and gassed it up and started on 3rd pull. I ran several things with it and was surprised what it ran. It does say to break it in with no more than 60% load for several hours but I couldn't resist testing it. In the pic running a battery charger at 312 watts plus fan at 60 watts and tumbler at 186 watts plus hair straightener at 200 watts = total of 758 watts.and couldnt even tell it was pulling the motor down. Next was the jig saw at 720 watts no problem at all. Moved on to the shop vac which if I figure right (120v x 12A) is pulling 1440 watts. I could tell it was dragging motor but still ran fine and didn't through the trip. Got the wifes haird dryer which states 1875 watts. On cool no problems on medium could tell the gen was working so I flipped the hair dryer to high heat. Dogged down the gen but it still ran and didn't through the trip. The hair dryer didn't blow at full power but it was running! All in all I say a hell of a deal for $84!
Harbor Freight Coupon link so you don't have to go to front page. |
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Posted: 4/16/2010 4:31:26 PM EDT
[#13]
http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa/common/displayPage.do?pageFile=fieldstream.html
Link to the Field and Stream coupons - Gennie for $89.99...and another 20% coupon! Going to pick mine up in 30 minutes! |
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OK, USA
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Posted: 4/16/2010 4:53:17 PM EDT
[#14]
Originally Posted By easy610:
http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa/common/displayPage.do?pageFile=fieldstream.html Link to the Field and Stream coupons - Gennie for $89.99...and another 20% coupon! Going to pick mine up in 30 minutes! I wonder if you can use the $89 coupon then the 20% on top of that! |
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USA
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Posted: 4/16/2010 10:26:33 PM EDT
[Last Edit: hawk1]
[#15]
Originally Posted By adluginb:
Originally Posted By easy610:
http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa/common/displayPage.do?pageFile=fieldstream.html Link to the Field and Stream coupons - Gennie for $89.99...and another 20% coupon! Going to pick mine up in 30 minutes! I wonder if you can use the $89 coupon then the 20% on top of that! I've heard that some of the stores will allow it and some won't. When I bought mine I completely forgot to even try. The wife reminded me when we were in the car. Never hurts to ask... |
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Posted: 4/17/2010 3:55:44 AM EDT
[Last Edit: easy610]
[#16]
Originally Posted By adluginb: Originally Posted By easy610: http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa/common/displayPage.do?pageFile=fieldstream.html Link to the Field and Stream coupons - Gennie for $89.99...and another 20% coupon! Going to pick mine up in 30 minutes! I wonder if you can use the $89 coupon then the 20% on top of that! Tried it! No luck!! I had to get the one conscientious cashier! $95 out the door....w tax. |
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Posted: 4/18/2010 1:01:51 AM EDT
[Last Edit: Skibane]
[#17]
Originally Posted By Blackoperations:
This generator does not like starting in cold weather, after sitting for five days with gas in it. Took about 7-10 pulls to start it on a 28f degree morning (it is stored in a outdoor shed). This may be attributed to the 2 year old gas I have been using to run it, Im not sure. But after the 7-10 pulls, it fires right up and chugs away. A spritz of starting fluid should make it a lot easier to start. The air filter cover comes off easily (just remove 2 screws), exposing the carb air inlet. EDIT: The F5TC spark plug is of Chinese manufacture, and is equivalent to Bosch W8DC, Champion N11YC, and NGK BP5ES. |
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USA
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Posted: 4/18/2010 12:55:16 PM EDT
[#18]
I wonder if you can use the $89 coupon then the 20% on top of that!
It says on all the Gennie coupons I've ever seen that the sale price can't be used with any other coupon. It doesn't say it on the 20% coupon though. If it doesn't say it on your Generator Coupon then it's legitimate to present the 20% off coupon too. I'm NOT saying anyone here is doing this, but I think it's unethical to dupe an attendant into giving you 20% off. If they're aware of the conditions and they go along with giving you the additional discount I see nothing wrong with it. When I picked mine up it was at a distant store and I had a rain check. She was going to give me the 20% additional, but I showed her that I got the rain check price with the sale coupon, so,,, no additional discount. At Target the other day, they had a mistake on a display item. I didn't demand the discount, but they offered to honor it and of course I took it. |
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CA, USA
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Posted: 4/18/2010 11:49:19 PM EDT
[#19]
I was reading the American Rifleman and they have a coupon for $79.99. I looked online but was not able to see the current month or a list of advertisers.
Buzz. |
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Posted: 4/18/2010 11:55:46 PM EDT
[#20]
Originally Posted By blvdbuzzard:
I was reading the American Rifleman and they have a coupon for $79.99. I looked online but was not able to see the current month or a list of advertisers. Buzz. The field and stream magazine I just got had coupons for 79.99. These are preaty cool little generators. A lot quieter than I thought it would be. Should be good for camping or lights when the power goes out. |
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Posted: 4/19/2010 12:15:10 AM EDT
[Last Edit: Skibane]
[#21]
I'm surprised at how clean the exhaust is, for a 2-stroke - No smoke, and very little exhaust odor. I've been using the synthetic TCW-3 oil in mine - According to internet lore, it burns quite a bit cleaner than standard 2-stroke oil, and does a better job of preventing spark plug fouling. It's not much more expensive than "ordinary" 2-stroke oil (Wal-Mart sells it by the gallon for about $11). At a 50:1 mixture ratio, a gallon would last quite a while in this little generator...
Originally Posted By tenOC:
I bought one of these and just got around to trying it. It was very hard to start at first. I yanked for a good 40-50 times before tilting it over toward the carb side of the gennie. It finally caught and took right off. But it hunted quite a bit looking for idle. It was also banging intermittently. I didn't fill the tank up, because I didn't have a full gallon. I had about a 1/4 gallon of 50:1 that I use for my Stihl saw and Echo blower. This mix is only a couple of weeks old from where I cut up a good sized Maple and then used the blower to clean the yard up. The gennie ran out of gas within 2 minutes! I opened the tank and there's quite a bit of fuel sloshing in there, and it's just over the raised portion that's in the center of the tank. I just assume it's out of gas because if I let it sit for a minute, it will fire off for a few seconds (after pulling it 8-10 times with the choke on) before it dies. Wow. That's a lot of gas in the tank that isn't being consumed. So I go and mix a half gallon more and add it to the tank (it's all I had on hand). It fired right off and hunted again. And now it's starting to settle into a more constant banging instead of intermittent as the minutes go by. I got a lamp with a 100 watt bulb and connected it, turning it on. The gennie is still surging, but it's got to break in for a while I guess before I can expect it to settle. After tolerating the now constant banging noise for a couple of minutes I started to investigate where it's coming from. It's definitely coming from the piston slapping the cylinder walls. So 10 minutes into running it, I'm cashing in my chips on this one. Back to the store it's going. It took quite a bit of time to even find one in stock. I'm underwhelmed at this point. I'd bet the "banging" you're hearing is an occasional misfire under light load - not uncommon for 2-strokes, and something that other owners of this generator have reported. If you had applied a significant load (at least several hundred watts), you probably would have noticed that the engine would no longer be surging or skipping. |
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MI, USA
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Posted: 4/19/2010 8:15:51 AM EDT
[#22]
I went to go get one of the $79.99 gen-sets and walked away with the 2200/2400W 5.5hp version instead.
I filled it with 10W-30 Mobil One and put 0.25gal of unleaded in it. It started straight up and ran really smooth. I plug in a drill and played around with ti and it seemed to run fine without much hesitation. I used the 20% coupon on it and got it for $239.99 then I bought the 3-yr warranty plan for $49. Normally I don't buy warranty plans, but with Harbor Freight stuff, you almost have to as some of there stuff can be hit or miss, and I don't wanna be out $300 in 2 yrs time after the genny get a hard use during an outage. Just for s&g's I went throught the gennerator section at Lowes yesterday and they have the same gen-sets, that are labelled differently, but you can see it's the same mfr and the same parts and their prices are about 50% higher the HF, for the same thing! |
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Posted: 4/19/2010 6:16:06 PM EDT
[#23]
Leave cold.
http://www.harborfreightusa.com/html/MagazineLanders/ http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa/tabviewer/start.do |
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USA
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Posted: 4/19/2010 6:24:38 PM EDT
[#24]
I'd bet the "banging" you're hearing is an occasional misfire under light load - not uncommon for 2-strokes, and something that other owners of this generator have reported. If you had applied a significant load (at least several hundred watts), you probably would have noticed that the engine would no longer be surging or skipping. Interesting. I haven't tried the replacement yet. I better get to it. |
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TX, USA
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Posted: 4/21/2010 8:54:11 PM EDT
[#25]
I just purchased one.
Under a light load of 80 watts the voltage is 121-122 and the frequency varies between 62 and 73 Hz. Under a heavy load of about 700 watts the voltage drops to about 100 volts and the frequency also varies between 62-73 Hz. Is this to be expected or should I return it and try another one? |
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Posted: 4/21/2010 10:34:39 PM EDT
[#26]
Originally Posted By hp223:
I just purchased one. Under a light load of 80 watts the voltage is 121-122 and the frequency varies between 62 and 73 Hz. Under a heavy load of about 700 watts the voltage drops to about 100 volts and the frequency also varies between 62-73 Hz. Is this to be expected or should I return it and try another one? Put a couple tanks of gas through it. No engine works properly until it's broken in. Also, be sure that you're measuring the voltage AT THE GENERATOR RECEPTACLE - It's pretty easy to get a low voltage reading under load when using an extension cord. BTW, the owner's manual says the normal break-in period is 25 hours - and also mentions that loads over 600 watts should be avoided during break-in. Naturally, any generator you plan on relying on during an emergency should be thoroughly broken in and tested BEFORE you need it. |
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TX, USA
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Posted: 4/22/2010 2:24:11 PM EDT
[#27]
What I am most concerned about is changing frequency.
According to my Kill- A- Watt the frequency varies from 61-72 changing every second or so. It does it on 2 Kill-A-Watt meters and both show rock steady when connected to house current. Will this much change in frequency damage electrical devices plugged into the generator? |
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FL, USA
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Posted: 4/22/2010 5:37:07 PM EDT
[#28]
Originally Posted By hp223:
What I am most concerned about is changing frequency. According to my Kill- A- Watt the frequency varies from 61-72 changing every second or so. It does it on 2 Kill-A-Watt meters and both show rock steady when connected to house current. Will this much change in frequency damage electrical devices plugged into the generator? I'm not an electrical engineer, but in my opinion the small fluctuations will not hurt your average everyday devices. I would only be concerned if you are running sensitive electronics, or life dependent devices such as a cpap machine or something of that nature, that you can't afford to have fail. Moreover, other than pure-sine inverter based generators, you will be hard pressed to find a generator that provides power comparable to the grid electric in your home. The engine smooths out on about the fourth tank of gas, it idles better and improves on fuel consumption based on my experience with the unit. |
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Posted: 4/22/2010 6:48:25 PM EDT
[#29]
Originally Posted By hp223:
What I am most concerned about is changing frequency. According to my Kill- A- Watt the frequency varies from 61-72 changing every second or so. It does it on 2 Kill-A-Watt meters and both show rock steady when connected to house current. Will this much change in frequency damage electrical devices plugged into the generator? No. Some clocks rely on an accurate 60 Hz line frequency to keep good time, but the average device couldn't care less if the frequency is somewhat above 60 Hz. |
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Posted: 4/23/2010 1:43:53 PM EDT
[#30]
Sorry if its been asked but...bought one. Tried running the family fridge. Worked ok, but interior light flickered a bit. SHould I be worried about damage to compressor?
I'd only use it this way in emerg.... Mine started on 6-7th pull. Pretty smooth idle, and pretty quiet... |
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FL, USA
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Posted: 4/23/2010 4:57:45 PM EDT
[#31]
Originally Posted By easy610:
Sorry if its been asked but...bought one. Tried running the family fridge. Worked ok, but interior light flickered a bit. SHould I be worried about damage to compressor? I'd only use it this way in emerg.... Mine started on 6-7th pull. Pretty smooth idle, and pretty quiet... possibly..... if the voltage is too low...check it with a multimeter with the plug barley out of the extension cord to expose enough metal to make contact with the leads. But for short runs (a few days to a week) I say you should be fine. How big of a fridge are you running, give us the amp rating on the sticker (it's inside the door, or back of fridge next to compressor). |
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Posted: 4/23/2010 5:41:26 PM EDT
[#32]
Awesome! Thanks for the quick reply.
At work now, but will look when I get home and post numbers... Thanks again, |
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Posted: 4/23/2010 9:14:57 PM EDT
[#33]
Using a top-quality extension cord (12 or 10 gauge wire) - in the shortest length that will reach - can help a lot in starting and running heavy loads like refrigerators. Most folks like to buy the cheapest 100 foot 18 gauge cord they can find, and then can't figure out why the voltage is so low at the far end of it...
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USA
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Posted: 4/25/2010 8:22:37 PM EDT
[#34]
I got my replacement out today, finally. I fueled it up and it actually only took about 5 pulls to fire off. After that it hunted for idle like the other one did, but no banging of the engine this time. I loaded it with a battery charger at 2 Amps and it hunted a little less. After a half hour or so, I shut it down. Voltage output when first running was around 118V. After a half hour it was 122-124V. And there was no hint of banging.
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Posted: 4/26/2010 9:45:33 PM EDT
[#35]
Originally Posted By Blackoperations: Originally Posted By easy610: Sorry if its been asked but...bought one. Tried running the family fridge. Worked ok, but interior light flickered a bit. SHould I be worried about damage to compressor? I'd only use it this way in emerg.... Mine started on 6-7th pull. Pretty smooth idle, and pretty quiet... possibly..... if the voltage is too low...check it with a multimeter with the plug barley out of the extension cord to expose enough metal to make contact with the leads. But for short runs (a few days to a week) I say you should be fine. How big of a fridge are you running, give us the amp rating on the sticker (it's inside the door, or back of fridge next to compressor). 6.5 FULL LOAD AMPS |
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Posted: 4/26/2010 9:58:35 PM EDT
[#36]
6.5 amps X 120 volts = 780 watts...which is pretty close to this generator's maximum continuous rating.
Also, most fridges draw a lot more than the full-load wattage during the first few seconds when the compressor starts - which makes it surprising that the generator could even get your fridge started. |
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FL, USA
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Posted: 5/29/2010 4:09:36 PM EDT
[#37]
Well hurricane season is starting on Tuesday June 1st, so it is time to take the generator out of hibernation for some routine running.
I bought the generator at the end of January, I lost count of the run time but it is somewhere in the area of 40 hours of total run time. So far so good. My "generator" gas cans: 
These are supplement to my 10 nato fuel cans which I used for long term storage. I prefer to bring these plastic cans to the gas station to fill up rather than the nato gas cans. I don't get as many strange looks with the johnny homeowner plastic cans
A couple notes: The engine starts easier than it did when new. As noted on my earlier post, the engine starts to idle better after 10hr of run time. Run time has improved as well, averaging about 6 hours a tank (1 gallon) at about 3/4 load. Overall, I am bumping my original rating of 3 out of 5, to 3.5 out of five. |
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Posted: 5/29/2010 8:12:26 PM EDT
[#38]
Originally Posted By Skibane:
Using a top-quality extension cord (12 or 10 gauge wire) - in the shortest length that will reach - can help a lot in starting and running heavy loads like refrigerators. Most folks like to buy the cheapest 100 foot 18 gauge cord they can find, and then can't figure out why the voltage is so low at the far end of it... Might be cheaper to buy Romex + ends and make your own. Most of the good cords I've seen are expensive. |
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Posted: 6/8/2010 9:18:23 PM EDT
[#39]
here's my little review.
i was home on leave last month and used the coupon from field and stream and got it for $79 plus tax. the manager was running the register and told me about the in-store replacement plan. now, i've never bought a service plan or extended warranty or any of that before, but i couldn't resist this one. for $20, i have 2 full years for replacement. he said it didn't matter if i dropped it, ran over it, or just plain blew it up, they'd replace it. i used it for about 12 hours a day for a week, running the camper on it. everything was smooth it ran well for me. 3 or so pulls on the cord at each start. it ran longer than expected on a tank of fuel. i don't recall the exact number, but it ran a couple of hours more than the specs on 91 octane mix at a little over half load. |
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Posted: 6/8/2010 9:44:45 PM EDT
[#40]
After reading this thread, I think I will go ahead and buy one to try out. I still want to buy a yamaha for serious use, but this might be just perfect for odd jobs and it may turn out to be a great little performer.
I will be visiting my Mom in the Hospital on Friday and will be right near a HF so its a perfect opportunity without spending extra money on gas. |
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MS, USA
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Posted: 6/8/2010 10:17:17 PM EDT
[#41]
Originally Posted By batmanacw:
After reading this thread, I think I will go ahead and buy one to try out. I still want to buy a yamaha for serious use, but this might be just perfect for odd jobs and it may turn out to be a great little performer. I will be visiting my Mom in the Hospital on Friday and will be right near a HF so its a perfect opportunity without spending extra money on gas. At first when I saw the title of this thread I was like 
But then I started reading and now I'm like 
I think I want one too, just to play with. Right now, if a storm knocks out our power, I am limited to what I can run off of a deep cycle battery and an 800W inverter. So this might be a good foot in the door to generator preps. Thanks for this thread and product review, OP. |
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Posted: 6/8/2010 10:36:20 PM EDT
[#42]
Originally Posted By Canoer: Originally Posted By batmanacw: After reading this thread, I think I will go ahead and buy one to try out. I still want to buy a yamaha for serious use, but this might be just perfect for odd jobs and it may turn out to be a great little performer. I will be visiting my Mom in the Hospital on Friday and will be right near a HF so its a perfect opportunity without spending extra money on gas. At first when I saw the title of this thread I was like But then I started reading and now I'm like I think I want one too, just to play with. Right now, if a storm knocks out our power, I am limited to what I can run off of a deep cycle battery and an 800W inverter. So this might be a good foot in the door to generator preps. Thanks for this thread and product review, OP. I have a big 5500W generator, but it is noisy as hell and eats gas. I realized a few years ago that I really don't need or want to run my whole house. I just want to run specific items. Why waste the gas on running a large engine when a little one is enough for short term outages? |
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Posted: 6/9/2010 10:12:51 PM EDT
[Last Edit: batmanacw]
[#43]
I am thinking I might buy a 600 watt microwave just to use with this small generator. Maybe after I get the thing and make sure it runs, a few smaller appliances like a small microwave would be handy. They would still be a good idea for when I get my yamaha when I have more money to spend.
Another great use for this generator long term would be for running my grain grinder once I get a motor for it and for running the big mixer for making big batches of bread. ETA: I could probably run my large toaster oven off this little grinder. It would be very easy to use for baking bread in a pinch for as long as the gas holds out. Good thing we will have a decent amount on hand. I will check its wattage rating when I get back to the shop. |
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Posted: 6/11/2010 2:02:44 PM EDT
[#44]
Originally Posted By batmanacw:
I am thinking I might buy a 600 watt microwave just to use with this small generator. Maybe after I get the thing and make sure it runs, a few smaller appliances like a small microwave would be handy. They would still be a good idea for when I get my yamaha when I have more money to spend. Another great use for this generator long term would be for running my grain grinder once I get a motor for it and for running the big mixer for making big batches of bread. ETA: I could probably run my large toaster oven off this little grinder. It would be very easy to use for baking bread in a pinch for as long as the gas holds out. Good thing we will have a decent amount on hand. I will check its wattage rating when I get back to the shop. If you already have a microwave, you may be able to use it with this smaller genny by setting the power level to 60-70%. At full power,my microwave uses too much juice for this smaller generator also. I don't know if what I suggested would work or not; I haven't tested the theory yet. |
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Posted: 6/11/2010 4:40:07 PM EDT
[#45]
Originally Posted By rsqhobbs:
If you already have a microwave, you may be able to use it with this smaller genny by setting the power level to 60-70%. At full power,my microwave uses too much juice for this smaller generator also. Over on the RVNet forums, several folks have reported that this trick only works with the "inverter" microwaves - and only then at some power settings. Conventional (non-inverter) microwaves operate at full power, but cycle the magnetron on and off to achieve lower average power settings. |
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MS, USA
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Posted: 6/11/2010 6:07:10 PM EDT
[#46]
Originally Posted By Skibane:
Originally Posted By rsqhobbs:
If you already have a microwave, you may be able to use it with this smaller genny by setting the power level to 60-70%. At full power,my microwave uses too much juice for this smaller generator also. Over on the RVNet forums, several folks have reported that this trick only works with the "inverter" microwaves - and only then at some power settings. Conventional (non-inverter) microwaves operate at full power, but cycle the magnetron on and off to achieve lower average power settings. I was thinking the same thing as I nuked my leftover pizza in the microwave here at the office today. Forgot to post my suspicions that it would only work on certain types of microwaves though. |
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Posted: 6/12/2010 12:58:58 AM EDT
[Last Edit: batmanacw]
[#47]
I bought one today. In fact, they rung up the purchase and forgot to add the 20% discount. I pointed that out and they supposedly voided out the first transaction and did a whole new one. Just checked my bank account and both transactions went through, which means that not only did I get the good price, but I also paid the higher price as well, and only got one generator!!! I will call them in the morning.
I did get a chance to fire it up and play with it a little. it started on the 3rd pull. The idle seemed a little rough at first, with it calming down nicely once it got warmed up. Once a load was added it smoothed right out. All I had to test it with as a work light were I was at. The 75 watt bulb was enough load to really tell a difference. The "hunting" that was described earlier was pretty accurate. It seems the idle changes rpm a little while it has no load. Almost like its trying to find one. Once it has a load it just seemed to hum right a long. Tomorrow morning I am going to try plugging in my regular TV and direct TV receiver into it and see if that works okay. Then I will take it to the shop and try it with a harbor freight angle grinder and what ever else I can find to play with! I appreciate the OP bringing this to our attention. I think this little genny will really come in handy. ETA: I took the printout of the online price and then used the 20% coupon on top of that. |
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USA
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Posted: 6/12/2010 1:40:03 AM EDT
[#48]
Originally Posted By rsqhobbs:
Originally Posted By batmanacw:
I am thinking I might buy a 600 watt microwave just to use with this small generator. Maybe after I get the thing and make sure it runs, a few smaller appliances like a small microwave would be handy. They would still be a good idea for when I get my yamaha when I have more money to spend. Another great use for this generator long term would be for running my grain grinder once I get a motor for it and for running the big mixer for making big batches of bread. ETA: I could probably run my large toaster oven off this little grinder. It would be very easy to use for baking bread in a pinch for as long as the gas holds out. Good thing we will have a decent amount on hand. I will check its wattage rating when I get back to the shop. If you already have a microwave, you may be able to use it with this smaller genny by setting the power level to 60-70%. At full power,my microwave uses too much juice for this smaller generator also. I don't know if what I suggested would work or not; I haven't tested the theory yet. Unless it's an inverter microwave, "60%" is achieved by running full-power 60% of the time, and none 40% of the time, so it probably wouldn't work. |
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Posted: 6/12/2010 8:45:48 PM EDT
[Last Edit: batmanacw]
[#49]
I am breaking my generator in right now with a 500 watt work light. This genny idles roughly until it gets warmed up. Right now it is humming right along and sounds great. I can barely hear it outside.
When I first fired it up, the light was fluctuating a little. Now its rock steady and everything looks great. Tomorrow morning I will fire it up and see if it smooths out any on the idle as it breaks in. I bought a couple extra plugs today. My autoparts guy cross referenced the plug and it was supposed to be a N12YC. He gave me Autolite 65 plugs for replacement. I am guessing the hotter heat range will result in the plug staying cleaner in the two stroke. I was surprised that they could cross reference the chinese plug. This thing definitely likes to run with a load. I just killed the light to see what would happen. The idle surged a few times and then settled into a very slightly rough idle. Not bad. It is definitely smoothing out. I just don't want to run any later tonight. I have neighbors that I would like to keep happy and they have windows open. ETA: The manual said that the genny should run for 3 mins to warm up before connecting a load. Makes sense seeing what happened today. |
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IL, USA
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Posted: 6/12/2010 10:26:34 PM EDT
[#50]
Originally Posted By hp223:
What I am most concerned about is changing frequency. According to my Kill- A- Watt the frequency varies from 61-72 changing every second or so. It does it on 2 Kill-A-Watt meters and both show rock steady when connected to house current. Will this much change in frequency damage electrical devices plugged into the generator? Its doubtful that the inertia in the engine would actually allow the frequency to change that much. You would hear that in the pitch of the engine. The frequency is directly related to engine RPM. Originally Posted By Blackoperations:
I'm not an electrical engineer, but in my opinion the small fluctuations will not hurt your average everyday devices. I would only be concerned if you are running sensitive electronics, or life dependent devices such as a cpap machine or something of that nature, that you can't afford to have fail. Moreover, other than pure-sine inverter based generators, you will be hard pressed to find a generator that provides power comparable to the grid electric in your home. I am, and in general I concur (but I am not an expert in small generators). Most things don't really care about small frequency fluctuations. It might be that the waveform is not a perfect sine wave and the meter is not doing a good job of sampling a non-sinusoidal wave form properly so you are getting some goofy readings. |
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